The Buzz: 20 Years Ago in Sound & Video Contractor

The July issue in 1985 focused on theater design. Regular columnist David Scheirman kicked it off with a feature article about the new Turbosound loudspeaker system installed in the Grand Ole Opry. Next up was a comprehensive overview by various contributors of the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC). John von Szeliski's "Genesis of an Arts Center" started the section detailing the design goals of the not-yet-completed facility. Von Szeliski was the theater design consultant for the Blurock Partnership

The Buzz: 20 Years Ago in Sound & Video Contractor

The July issue in 1985 focused on theater design. Regular columnist David Scheirman kicked it off with a feature article about the new Turbosound loudspeaker system installed in the Grand Ole Opry.

Next up was a comprehensive overview by various contributors of the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC). John von Szeliski's “Genesis of an Arts Center” started the section detailing the design goals of the not-yet-completed facility. Von Szeliski was the theater design consultant for the Blurock Partnership, one of the project's associated architectural firms. Dennis Paoletti and Jerald R. Hyde took over with “An Acoustical Preview of OCPAC,” and Paul A. Magil and Steven Hood provided “A-V Equipment at OCPAC.” Paoletti and Hyde, members of the Joint Venture Acoustical Consultants — an organization formed specifically for the OCPAC project — chronicled the development of scale models to be used for acoustical prediction of the venue's characteristics. Paoletti has been a principal with Shen Milsom & Wilke since 2000, when Paoletti Associates merged the company. Hyde continues to consult on acoustics from his office in St. Helena, Calif. Magil and Hood — who were with the AV consultants for the project, Paul A. Magil & Associates — outlined the AV system requirements for the facility. Since it was a work in progress, specific manufacturers were not yet determined.

Following the story of acoustical scale modeling for OCPAC, Richard G. Cann provided “Principles of Acoustical Scale Modeling,” where he explained some advantages of using scale models for acoustical performance prediction. Cann was president of Grozier Technical Systems. Grozier is at the same Brookline, Mass., address and specializes in sound level management systems and acoustical scale model design.

“A Historic Restoration,” on the restoration of the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colo., by David L. Klepper and David L. Adams, provided an overview on the process of bringing what was once known as “the most pretentious and magnificent opera house in the state” back to original specifications. Both David L.'s (Klepper and Adams) were acoustical consultants on the project, as well as members of the Sound & Video Contractor consultant staff.

William Lewis wrote “Tanglewood: Symphony on the Lawn,” covering the redesign of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's system to include a five-acre lawn area. “Redesigning the Paper Mill Playhouse,” by Peter J. George, was about the redesign of what was originally a small town mill into a playhouse. George was senior associate at Peter George Associates. The company is well-known in the theater design world.

Angelo J. Campanella provided a guest editorial, “In Pursuit of Intelligibility,” discussing speech intelligibility in PA systems. Campanella was, at that time, an acoustical consultant with Acculab (founded by Campanella in 1972) in Columbus, Ohio. In 1986, the name was changed to Campanella Associates.

A look at some of the ads in the issue: Shure featured its Automatic Microphone System (AMS) as a key component in speech-related multi-mic systems. Turbosound fired its ad agency to take a more direct approach of providing some basic technical information on their systems. Quam promoted its ability to provide 3450 combinations of 8in. speaker assemblies. Soundcraft advertised its Series Four as the most advanced console designed for live production.

In “What's New” 20 years ago, Numark introduced its SA220 stereo power amp. Sennheiser debuted the EM 2003-9 VHF narrowband receiver for use with carrier frequencies from 150MHz to 216MHz. Revox promoted the B215 cassette deck, and Studer Revox introduced the A725 compact disc player. QSC developed the Octal Accessory Series of plug-in modules. Ikegami's ITC-410 high-resolution black-and-white camera for general monitoring was also new in July 1985.

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